Best Beef Jerkies in 2022

These delectable little snacks offer some powerful protein and a ton of flavor, but we go further than that. Let’s describe how it’s made, allergy information, and the sensitive subject of kosher and halal beef jerky (yes, it exists).

How we Chose Our Selection of Beef Jerky

Quality - Quality is everything. Low fat, high protein, as many natural ingredients as possible, and a brand name that is notorious for flavor and attention to good products. Trust us, you can taste a poor quality jerky from a good one.

Brand reviews - The voice of the people. Even if we liked it, that’s not enough to put it on this list. We took a look at what everyone else thought, their experiences with the brand, customer service, replacements, and more.

Taste - This was a truly fun test, but was plenty of sodium for the day. Taste comes down to the marinade they use, and it’s very much influenced by the texture, which we’ll get into in a moment.

Price - You pay a lot for a little with beef jerky. On average, packages contain three ounces. Price is heavily influenced by how lean the meat was during production. Don’t worry, we found far better deals than average for you up above.

Features To Look For In Beer Jerky

Taste - After all, this is why we’re here. Taste is heavily influenced by texture when it comes to beef jerky, so you’ll need to take the toughness and moisture into consideration before digging in. For example, organic beef jerky tends to be moister because it has a short shelf life. Smoked beef jerky is tough and dry, so you’ll get a lot more shelf life out of it.

Ingredients - Beef jerky has a relatively short list of ingredients, even when heavily processed. You’ll run into various spices and flavorings, commonly seeing soy sauce, red pepper flakes, black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Few preservatives are used and are usually only citric acid and salt.

Type of meat - Yes, it’s all beef, but from different cuts. Most commonly, you’ll see beef flank steak, round steak, rump roast, and brisket flats. Occasionally, you’ll also see London broil cuts.

Dry/Moist - Beef jerky is traditionally enjoyed dry, though some brands have a moist version that doesn’t have as long of an expiration date, but has a lot more flavor and retained marination mixture.

Tough/Soft - Beef jerky has a natural leathery texture to it, which is what you want. However, this could seriously impact how well your teeth can handle it. Different brands have a different standard for how tough or soft they make their beef jerky, usually indicated on their package. This comes down to personal preference.

Beef Jerky FAQ

Q: What is Beef Jerky?

A: Beef jerky is marinated beef strips that rest in various sauces and spices, depending on the manufacturer preferences. They are then dried out, cooked, potentially dried out (or cured) further, and packaged. You’ll commonly see bags containing no more than three ounces at a time.

While you might think, “I can go to a steakhouse and get a 16 oz steak,” the process is very different. For one, there’s more sodium found in beef jerky than a standard steak, which is completely fine to consume in moderation. They’re put into recommended serving sizes of one ounce at a time.

Beef jerky lasts for a long time whether stored dry or refrigerated and are among one of the best ways to cure beef to maintain it for a hefty duration. Under the right circumstances and with minimal added preservatives, you can keep beef jerky for a few years before it spoils, which is why it’s a staple in emergency survival kits.

Q: What are the health benefits of eating Jerky?

A: While it’s often revered as a “trucker snack” and not good for you, beef jerky actually has some fantastic benefits. Due to how lean the meat is when it’s chosen for the jerky process, you get a very little bit of fat, usually amounting to six or seven grams per serving.

Monounsaturated fats are the good kind, the ones that your heart actually benefits from. In moderation, of course. There’s usually anywhere from 90 to 150 calories in a single serving of beef jerky, most standardly being one ounce at a time. You’ll also get anywhere from eight to ten grams of protein, and for a small snack, that packs a punch. That’s the average protein contents of two large white eggs.

Q: How is Beef Jerky made?

A: Many of the ingredients in any standard pack of beef jerky is directly used in the entire curing process. Depending on the mix chosen by the company, (usually a blend of honey, black pepper, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, onion powder, and Worcestershire sauce), they’ll soak strips of raw beef in it, and prep it for the oven.

Those strips of beef are extremely lean cuts; fat is the enemy of a good set of beef jerky. Manufacturers will strip the fat off of pieces, and remove any marbled bits of fat. It’s impossible to remove it all, which is why you see brands like Jack Links stating that they’re 96% fat-free on their packaging.

After the beef strips have had time to soak, they’re transferred to a panto head into a low-temperature oven. The standard temperature that keeps food well above safe numbers is 145 F or above. On average, beef jerky sits in a 175 F oven for anywhere from two to nine hours, depending on the manufacturer, process, and the size of the strips.

You get a tough, leather consistency when they come out, which is exactly what you want. This is when a preservative is added (if it wasn’t during the marination process), and they’ll be left to dry until they reach the desired texture. Each manufacturer has their own preferences, and this time depends on the texture that they’re going for. Some beef jerky is moister than others and may require less time spent in the oven.

Q: What is the best way to store my Jerky to make sure it lasts long and keeps fresh?

A: You’re going to emulate how it was made for the best results. Once you open the package, moisture and oxidation begin to take form, which is why you need to enjoy what you’d like and get ready to wrap up the rest.

You need to aim for a cool, dry place. If you plan on having your jerky within the course of thirty days after opening it, you can simply seal it, and store it on the counter, in a cabinet, anywhere that you’d like. If you plan on having it out for more than thirty days, you need to refrigerate it to maintain the integrity of the meat.

Either way, you'll need to go ahead and use one of two methods to properly store it and reduce the effects of oxidation.

1. Tape a Ziploc bag, preferably one with a two-part seal and not a zipper. Place the beef jerky in the corner, and do your best to feed the air out through the top while closing it. Beef jerky is dense, so you’re going to apply pressure directly around it, squeezing the bag to remove all little pockets of air. Quickly seal it up, and if all went well, you should have some tightness on the plastic. It doesn’t have to be a perfect seal, just enough to preserve your beef jerky.
2. Use a food-safe vacuum sealer. This is the better option, though we believe that if you’re buying beef jerky, you’ll be having it within a timely manner after tearing the package open. If you store it using this method, you should have up to ninety days before we recommend tossing it.

Q: How do I keep my Beef Jerky fresh after opening?

A: If you’re going to be eating it within a short time period after opening, you want to maintain the flavor and dryness/moisture as best you can. If you’re not going to be storing it for up to thirty days as we talked about in the previous section, then you’re going to need a temporary storage container.

If you have any of the following, it will work to keep your jerky tasting fresh for up to two or three days:

• Empty glass jar
• Tin foil
• Tupperware container
• Plastic wrap

Be sure to avoid paper bags of any sort. There’s an old trick to ripen bananas, by putting them in a paper bag for the rest of the day. This environment promotes oxidation at a rapid pace, which is exactly what you want to avoid. You should have any number of these containers lying around in your home somewhere.

Q: Is Beef Jerky halal or kosher?

A: Under both circumstances, beef jerky is not automatically halal or kosher. Specific brands exist that procure these meats, facilities, and ingredients to retain their authenticity, and ensure they’re properly prepared.

For most kosher beef jerky brands, you can notice the Star-K hashgacha, while halal beef jerky has a much more subtle packaging. Halal beef jerky comes in darker packaging to prevent damage from sunlight and contains many vegetable-based preservatives, such as cherry powder or organic cane sugar.

You have to look for the specific packaging. We’ve done our best in this list to ensure we’ve marked whether or not the specific packet of beef jerky is halal, kosher, or none of the above. Many brands that fall under this category clearly state it on the front of their packaging.

Q: What is the small white packet in my Jerky bag?

A: Because of the way jerky is treated, they need something apart from preservatives (usually just citric acid) to prevent oxidation and moisture retention. These “oxygen packets,” as they’re most commonly referred to, are not to be ingested under any means. Though they’re vacuum-sealed in the container with the beef jerky, they don’t flavor, harm or taint the jerky in any way, shape or form. They’re simply there as a non-invasive means of maintaining freshness.

If the contents of the packet are open, you’ll notice a brownish sand color on your jerky. If this occurs, contact the manufacturer and explain the issue. They’re more than happy to oblige and replace your beef jerky. These oxygen packets aren’t meant to break and undergo multiple temperature treatments as well as rigorous packaging. This is a fluke, and will be remedied.

Q: I have specific food allergies: How can I find out more information on the ingredients in the products?

A: Any company in the United States that produces food is required to list all ingredients, vitamins, calorie information and more. These are usually found on the actual packages themselves, but in some cases, you can find more information online at the manufacturer’s website.

For instance, if you went to Jack Links website, they’ll list in-depth nutrition information from calories and fat, all the way down to protein. If you visit the ingredients tab, they will list the very brief description of the ingredients found in their beef jerky. All brands have to have some form of information available to the public, disclosing what ingredients go into their beef jerky to prevent allergic reactions.

The most common proteins (the most common cause of allergic reactions in food) used in most brands are simply beef, corn protein, and the very little bit of protein that comes from wheat (not all brands use wheat). Your best resource would be to go online to the manufacturer’s website. If you’re not certain which brand you’d like to go with, feel free to look up all the manufacturers beforehand and circle back to our research, so you can get the very best beef jerky.